Infected brew ?

[GF21]

Hi folks , could anyone tell me if this brew is infected , it's a Wilko's lager kit with added hop pellets , it smells lovely , but looks dodgy to me , any advice ?

 

[obscure]

I think your okay on this one looks like a mixture of hop debris and yeast to me.

 

[RichardM]

It looks OK to me. Taste it, if it smells OK and tastes OK then it's not infected.

 

[foxbat]

That's not infected.

 

[GF21]

I was a bit worried about the back half , i thought it was green mould , i also thought the pellets would dissolve/sink to the bottom , its due to be bottled tomorrow , should I skim it off or just syphon as normal , you can probably tell ive never had this happen before

 

[Rodcx500z]

As above, slap the side of the bucket with a paddle and it should drop

 

[GF21]

As above, slap the side of the bucket with a paddle and it should drop

how do i do that rod , just tap the side of the bucket ?

 

[MarkT.]

Just be patient. You do not have to bottle tomorrow. Give it another 48 hours at least to clear a bit more and debris on top to drop.
If you had a 2nd FV then the done thing would have been to rack off into that and wait another day or 2 before bottling.
Maybe in future go with a 2nd FV and put hop pellets into a muslin bag.
You risk contamination of brew while having the lid off and taking pictures.
I always have my brew in first FV for 2 weeks approx and then another week in secondary, this gives it loads of time to get on with the last ferment and clearing.

 

[GF21]

Just be patient. You do not have to bottle tomorrow. Give it another 48 hours at least to clear a bit more and debris on top to drop.
If you had a 2nd FV then the done thing would have been to rack off into that and wait another day or 2 before bottling.
Maybe in future go with a 2nd FV and put hop pellets into a muslin bag.
You risk contamination of brew while having the lid off and taking pictures.
I always have my brew in first FV for 2 weeks approx and then another week in secondary, this gives it loads of time to get on with the last ferment and clearing.

I just followed the instructions mark , I do have another bin so i may do that , its been on for 3 weeks now so not being too hasty , I just thought them green bits were mould as its the first time ive seen it on one of my brews

 

[MarkT.]

Ahh you never said in OP that it had been in for 3 weeks.
Does not look like mold to me, maybe taste it as it should taste like a flat beer after 3 weeks.
Yes best rack off into your spare then the crap on top will eventually end up with the rest of trub.
If you do that now then should be good to bottle in 24 hours.

 

[RichardM]

I was a bit worried about the back half , i thought it was green mould , i also thought the pellets would dissolve/sink to the bottom , its due to be bottled tomorrow , should I skim it off or just syphon as normal , you can probably tell ive never had this happen before

Just syphon from under the surface and leave the dregs behind.

 

[An Ankoù]

It looks fine to me. What does it taste like?

 

[Rodcx500z]

how do i do that rod , just tap the side of the bucket ?

Yeah or gently wiggle the bucket to break the surface tension and it should start to drop

 

[GF21]

thanks for all the replies folks , i will have a taste tomorrow and let you know , btw rod , i slapped the bucket with my hand earlier and it looks like its dropping alraedy cheers

 

[GF21]

well folks , have had a taste of my brew and ive got to say , theres a definite after taste of what seems like dettoly , anticeptic . Am i right in thinking its gotta go down the drain or is it salvagable , ive done about 12 brews and this is the first time ive had this , but oh well , any advice folks ?

 

[Rochefort]

Which sanitiser did you use? VWP or bleach by any chance?

 

[GF21]

no m8 , have always used suresan no rinse , As i posted yesterday i was worried it was infected , there is a foto of it in the 1st post , didnt change my sanitising routine or anything , bin lid only came off to add hop pellets , and take foto of course as i was going to bottle it yesterday , thats when i noriced what i thought was mould on the surface

 

[Rochefort]

Lagers can be quite sulfury (burnt matches), this odour goes away with time, but if it is medicinal/TCP then I would guess an infection has somehow got hold of the wort. Make sure it isn't just sulfur before you tip it away.

It is fairly unusual for an infection like that in a lager because they are fermented cold. I have to say, it is not easy to see if that is just yeast and hop debris on the top or some kind of other yeast/mould. It would have to be a very large infection to take a hold during a lager fermentation, so I have my doubts!

 

[GF21]

it doesnt smell bad , its the taste thats not nice , its deffo antiseptic like , that doesnt seem normal to me

 

[phettebs]

What does your water look like? I had a mate who used his city water which was heavily chlorinated and his beers all had an antiseptic taste to them until he started using RO water. Just a thought.